The Vexos Chronicles Part I: Lost Luster
by son-of-heaven176
Summary: When Volt Luster got banished from Vestal, he found himself in a completely new world, filled with creatures beyond imagination, and plagued by an organization bent on world domination. After Team Rocket sees the promising weapon that is Haos Boriates, Volt has to keep him from falling into the wrong hands, while trying to find a way back home.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

In the throne room of the Vestal Motherpalace, Zenoheld, King of Vestal, was conferring with his servants, the Vexos. As usual, Zenoheld was standing in front of his throne. His son Hydron, Crown Prince and second-in-command of the Vexos, was standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne. The rest of the Vexos were kneeling in a semi-circle before the dais.

"Time to make those involved with the destruction of the BT System pay for their crimes with the lethal powers of Professor Clay's Alternative Weapon System!" Zenoheld bellowed. "When it's completed, we will harness enough power to destroy Vestal and Earth! We'll be able to annihilate every living thing that dares to oppose us! We will be unstoppable! They will all weep such bitter tears once they feel the full force of my mighty wrath!" Zenoheld continued.

Earlier that year, King Zenoheld had conquered the world of New Vestroia, home to a species called Bakugan. However, a group of humans, Vestals, and Bakugan calling themselves the "Bakugan Brawler Resistance" stood against him and liberated Vestroia from his rule. When King Zenoheld tried to retaliate by deploying the BT System—a machine designed to eliminate all Bakugan within a six-thousand-kilometer radius—those same meddlers destroyed it.

Nonetheless, all the Vexos hearing King Zenoheld were shocked at what they heard. Was their king really willing to destroy two planets—one of them being _their_ planet—in a bid for revenge? None, however, dared say a thing.

None, that was, except Volt Luster: "Excuse me, sire."

"Hmm?" replied the king.

"The original plan was to get revenge against the Brawlers who got us kicked out of Vestal," Volt said.

During the conquest of New Vestroia, the Royal Family had told the populace of Vestal that Bakugan were savage, unintelligent animals. Once the Vestals learned that Bakugan were actually intelligent beings, the outrage grew to such levels that the Royal Family, Vexos in tow, left the planet.

"This new mission of yours is wrong," Volt continued. "It involves the destruction of innocents. It's not cool to punish people who did nothing to harm us; I won't do it!"

"How _dare_ you question me!" replied King Zenoheld.

"Disloyal scum!" exclaimed Prince Hydron, who immediately struck Volt, making him fall supine to the ground. "You're a _soldier_, Volt, not a policymaker. All you need to do is be quiet and take orders, like a good little doggy."

_Doggy? _Volt's eyes narrowed and he clenched his jaw, but said nothing, only letting out a barely audible growl.

* * *

Later that day, Volt entered the Motherpalace's transporter room, a canvas bag over his shoulder. There was no way that he was staying there any longer. If Volt was a dog, then it was high time that _this_ dog left his leash!

Waiting for him in the transporter room, however, was Mylene Farrow, another of the Vexos.

"Don't be foolish, Volt," she said. "You and I both know that he cannot be stopped when he gets like this."

"And you're OK to just sit by and let it happen?" Volt asked.

"I'm not saying I agree with him. I'm just saying that it's pointless to try and stop him; he's too powerful. Too crazy."

"Maybe so, but still, I can't be a part of this."

"You know what will happen if you leave."

"Hmph." Without another word, Volt headed for the transporter.

"Take care of yourself, Volt. Every move you make from now on, you'll have to be looking over your shoulder."

"Yeah, I know." Stepping on the transporter pad, Volt dematerialized, to be transported to his home on planet Vestal.

"Good luck, friend."

* * *

Back in the throne room, King Zenoheld heard that Volt had left the Motherpalace. "I just can't believe that insubordinate fool! Hydron!"

"Sire," replied the prince.

"One of your _dogs_ has broken free of his leash! Take care of it, immediately!"

"Of course, sir."

* * *

Volt had managed to run away from the Vestal Motherpalace, but as promised, one of Zenoheld's flunkies followed him back to Vestal. Volt had valiantly fought back, but at the end, he found himself a victim of one of the most heinous devices ever conceived by Vestal science: the Death Bomb. Once caught inside the event horizon of the vortex that it created, there was no escape, only the impending banishment in the far reaches of the dimension. The last words he would hear on Planet Vestal were from Prince Hydron, saying "Enjoy your suffering!"

Unlike the interdimensional portals created by Vestal ships, the Death Bomb's vortex was oppressive. Instead of the usual bright tunnel, all that surrounded Volt was a pressing blackness, as if he were in the throat of a giant monster that was drawing its Vestal-sized morsel towards its stomach. Whoever designed the Death Bomb certainly knew how to make even the _voyage_ seem like a foray into hell. What horrors awaited on the other end of this interdimensional esophagus?

After what seemed like an eternity, Volt saw a pinprick of light in the distance. _Well,_ thought Volt_, it's time to see what type of suffering Prince Hydron has in store for me. He had better have sent me to some remote planet in some backwater galaxy, because otherwise, he will _not_ have seen the last of me!_

Unfortunately for Volt, the Death Bomb had one more surprise in store. The other end was not near the surface of the planet, but instead a few yards above it. Thus, when Volt emerged from the vortex, the first sight that greeted him was the rapidly approaching ground.

* * *

When Volt came to, he surveyed his surroundings. He was lying on a grassy field, not unlike those of New Vestroia. In the distance, he could see trees and mountains. The air was breathable, not oppressive in the slightest. Above him was a blue, cloudless sky.

_If I wanted to send someone somewhere to suffer, I would have sent him to some far-off, barely-habitable planet! _thought Volt. _But _this_ planet looks _nothing _like a place of suffering. In fact, this place looks almost idyllic! Was the inventor of the Death Bomb planning on boring the banished to death?_

_Well, whatever the situation is, it's useless to just stay here_. _Best to figure out where I am. Perhaps there may even be a way back to Vestal._

Volt got up and started to walk forward, continuing to survey his surroundings.

_Even though I am no longer welcome at the Motherpalace, I know that there are still people on Vestal who still admire me as a Bakugan brawler. I could easily find a place to lay low. Or maybe I could join the Resistance; they certainly would not want to see their planet blown up by a mad king on a bid for revenge!_

_Hah. Me, joining the Resistance. What irony! Everyone in the Motherpalace would think that I was long gone, only to find out that I was hiding right under their very noses. Or even better, that I was now fighting _against_ King Zenoheld right under _his_ nose!_

A strange sight took Volt out of his reverie. It was a small red bug. It had six legs, the front two being the largest. It had big, blue-scleraed eyes, and two teeth on each side on its mouth. But the weirdest thing about it was that it had mushrooms growing out of its back.

Whatever it was, it seemed to have been spooked as the tall, bulky, peach-haired humanoid continued to approach it, because before Volt knew it, the bug was shaking its mushrooms, causing a huge cloud of orange dust to spread out. Deciding that the dust was likely a defense mechanism, Volt covered his nose and mouth and started running as far away as he could from the bug and the cloud that it was emitting.

When he felt that he was far enough away, he turned around. The bug was gone. But at the very least, Volt knew that he wasn't on New Vestroia. That bug was no Bakugan; it was way too small for that.

However, a bug that could emit spores from its back did not look like any animal species that he knew of. Where was he? Were there more strange creatures like that? Volt decided to look around to see if there were any signs of intelligent life.

* * *

After running what felt like a marathon, Volt hid inside of a bush and was soon relieved to hear the buzzing noises fading away. If giant bees came out from every tree on this planet, it seemed to Volt that getting fruit was out of the question!

Over the past few hours, Volt had managed to avoid being gored by a bull that whipped itself into a frenzy with its three tails and trampled by a rhinoceros seemingly made of stone. His current sprint was due to his latest encounter with the local wildlife: avoiding being skewered by the giant drill-like appendages at the ends of the front legs of a swarm of giant bees.

_Enjoy your suffering!_ Was this what Hydron was talking about? Was he doomed to wander this planet forever, forced to survive until one misstep got him killed by one of these creatures?

As Volt tried to regain his composure after his latest brush with death, he heard a sound nearby. Fearing that the bees had returned, Volt readied himself to run again, but he soon regained his calm as the nature of the sound became clear: the sounds appeared to be that of conversation! Perhaps there _was_ intelligent life on this planet!

Heading towards the noise, he saw that it came from three humanoids. Hiding behind a nearby tree, Volt listened in.

* * *

"We won't ask again, old man: where's the breeding ground?"

The question came from an aquamarine-haired male wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that had a red "R" on the front, black pants, a white belt, white boots that extended an inch above the ankle, and white gloves that extended an inch above the wrist. Standing next to him was a blond-haired female, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a red "R" on front, a black miniskirt, white boots that extended past her knees, and white gloves that went up to the end of the shirt's sleeves.

The two were standing next to a bound old man who was seated on the ground. The old man was wearing khaki pants and a tan vest that was over a blue dress shirt.

The old man replied, "I told y'all before, and I'll tell y'all again: _I ain't telling y'all!_ If y'all hadn't tied me up, I'd've ran the whole lot of ya out of here by now!"

"A feisty one, isn't he?" the aquamarine-haired male replied. "But you should know that it's only a matter of time before we find it ourselves, so you might as well save us the trouble."

"Do ya take me for a fool?" said the old man. "Y'all are in a hurry because the parents'll be on their way back here any minute! Time is on _my_ side."

"Is that so? Who says that we don't have anything planned for them if they _do_ show up?"

The old man saw past Aquamarine's bluff: "You. Ya have me all tied up here, and yer grunts have the run of the place. If y'all were so sure y'all had everything under control, ya wouldn't be wastin' yer time pesterin' me ta tell ya where the breedin' ground was!"

The blonde said, "We'll see about that. With or without your help, that egg now belongs to Team Rocket."

* * *

After overhearing the exchange, Volt was confused. What would be so special about an egg that someone would go through all this trouble? And what was "Team Rocket"?

Seconds later, Volt saw another humanoid, a male in a black uniform similar to that worn by the questioning duo, running up towards the duo. The uniform consisted of a long-sleeved black shirt with a red "R" in the front, a black beret, black pants, gray boots, and gray gloves. Attached to his belt were small balls—red on one half and white on the other—that were little bigger than a Bakugan in ball form.

This new humanoid saluted the other two black-clad ones and reported, "Sir, ma'am, the dive team has found the breeding ground. It was in a lake a few meters to the northwest of here. The lake was difficult to spot because of all the cliffs around it. They found the egg and are bringing it to the copter as we speak."

Upon hearing the news, the blonde said to the old man, "Well, thanks for the chat, but it seems like we don't need you anymore. We'll be taking our leave now. Bye!" The three black-clad humanoids then ran off to the south.

Once the three were far enough away that Volt thought them out of earshot, he came out of hiding. The old man, hearing the rustling, cried out, "Hey! You over there! Come over here and untie me!"

Volt approached the old man and asked, "Who are you?"

"M'name's Kaiser. I'm the proprietor of this here Safari Zone," Kaiser answered.

"Who tied you up?" Volt asked.

"That would be Team Rocket, that bunch of no-good Pokémon thieves!" Kaiser replied.

"Pokémon?"

"Yeah, but not just any Pokémon. They look specifically for rare and powerful ones, and there're few Pokémon in Kanto rarer, or more powerful, than a Dragonite."

"So that's a … 'Dragonite' … egg they stole?"

"Are ya gonna untie me, or are we gonna play Twenty Questions? Yeah, that's a Dratini egg they just stole, and they're gonna get away with it if I don't stop 'em!"

Though people always thought of Volt as a musclehead, he was no dummy. Instead of pressing the question "What is a Pokémon?" Volt used what he heard to get a grasp of the situation. Apparently, he was in a place called "Kanto"; whether that was the name of this planet or just some region of it was not important now. "Pokémon" must be the collective name for the creatures living here, since "Dragonite" and "Dratini" are apparently types of "Pokémon." So those weird creatures that he had spent all those hours avoiding must have also been "Pokémon."

It also seemed that this human Kaiser cared about that egg that "Team Rocket" stole, so if Volt wanted to get any more answers from him, it seemed that retrieving that egg would have to be his first priority.

Volt started loosening Kaiser's bonds, which consisted of a rope binding his arms to his body, another rope tying his wrists together behind his back, and another rope tying his legs together.

After Volt finished freeing Kaiser, Kaiser said, "Thanks a lot. Now let's see if I can't catch them Rockets before they—"

Kaiser's sentence was interrupted by the sound of helicopter rotors powering up. He then ran towards the south, but did not get far before seeing the helicopter lift off and turn towards the west.

"Just my luck. They're gettin' away! Now how am I gonna stop them? How am I gonna get that egg back before its parents return?"

Seeing the helicopter flying away, Volt said, "I'll shoot it down."

Kaiser, incredulous, said, "Unless ya got a RPG under them clothes of yours, how are ya gonna shoot down that helicopter?"

Volt replied, "Like this."

Out of his cloak, Volt took a device that seemed like an oversized bracelet with a flat surface on one side, and clamped it onto his left arm, flat side out. He thrust his forearm vertically and said, "Gauntlet, Power Strike!" The flat side of the Gauntlet started to glow.

Volt then pressed a few buttons on the Gauntlet. A mechanical female voice replied, "Custom Battle Ability has performed a program update."

Volt then pulled what seemed like a white marble with yellow highlights out of his cloak. "Bakugan, Brawl!" he yelled, throwing the marble onto the ground.

"Bakugan, Stand!" Volt commanded once the marble stopped rolling.

The marble popped open into a figure that had arms, legs, and a horned head.

"Rise, Haos Boriates!" Volt commanded.

The ground around the marble began to glow. When the light waned, a sixty-foot-tall robot stood in the marble's place. The robot was predominantly white, with gold highlights. Its basic shape was that of a human, but with a head shaped like a bull's, which had gold horns that extended vertically from its temples. Each horn was as tall as the head itself.

Volt said, "Boriates, I want that flying machine shot down, not blown up. Aim for the tail and fire!" He then pulled a card out of his cloak and set it into a slot that had extended from the Gauntlet. The slot closed, and the mechanical voice said, "Ability card set."

"Ability, activate: Prometheus Cannon!" Volt ordered.

Two gun barrels extended from a box on Boriates' left forearm. Boriates aimed the cannon at the helicopter and fired.

Two yellow lasers issued from the cannon barrels and headed towards the helicopter. They grazed the tail, which began to smoke, causing the helicopter to go into a tailspin.

Kaiser watched the entire scene with mouth agape. Once he saw the helicopter begin to descend, he said, "Ya shot it down, but how're we gonna get ta them before they run away?"

As if on cue, Boriates bent down and lowered his right hand onto the ground.

Volt jumped onto the outstretched hand and said, "Climb on!"

"What?!" Kaiser exclaimed. "Ya want _me_ ta get onto _that_ thing?"

"Do you or don't you want to get that egg back?" Volt replied.

At that, Kaiser reluctantly climbed on. Boriates lifted his hand towards his left shoulder. Once the two humanoids were on its shoulder, Boriates started walking towards the downed helicopter.

* * *

At the crash-landing site, the Rockets had left the helicopter to survey the damage. The egg had survived intact, having been stored in a padded case.

"Report!" the blonde ordered.

"It appears that the tail rotor has been damaged, Ma'am," one of the grunts, the pilot, reported.

"How could that be?" she replied. "Did you cut into the path of some Flying Pokémon?"

The blonde's question was met by a series of thuds rumbling across the ground. Before long, the Rockets saw a giant bull-headed robot headed towards them. On its left shoulder were two people. One was unfamiliar to the blonde: a bulky man with peach hair, standing by the robot's head as if riding on its shoulder were second nature to him. The other figure—Kaiser—was clearly not as experienced, lying prone and holding on to the shoulder as if for dear life.

However, once the robot stopped moving, Kaiser stood up and crowed, as if he had shot down the helicopter himself, "Team Rocket, this here's Chaos Four-Eyed Hades—"

"That's 'Haos Boriates,' sir," Volt corrected.

"Whatever," Kaiser replied, and turning to the Rockets, he continued, "and unless y'all want another taste of the power that shot down yer helicopter, y'all return that egg!"

Aquamarine-hair was unconvinced. "Uh-huh. A sixty-foot robot. In the Safari Zone. Where could you possibly have hid a sixty-foot robot?" Turning to the grunts, he said, "Whoever has a Pokémon with Foresight, use it and tell us what's really going on!"

At that, one of the grunts took one of the tiny balls from his belt. Pressing a button in the middle, the ball expanded to about twice its previous diameter. The grunt then threw the ball to the ground, commanding, "Noctowl, use Foresight!"

When the ball hit the ground, the colored halves split apart, and out came what appeared to be a mass of white plasma, which coalesced into the form of an owl with huge eyebrows. Red spotlights then proceeded from its eyes. The beams, however, had no effect on Boriates or its riders.

Seeing that the sight before him was no illusion, Aquamarine, trembling, said, "Well, the bigger they are, the harder they fall." After picking up a ball from his belt, he threw it to the ground, saying, "Go, Aggron!"

Believing that attacks were soon to come, Volt had Boriates help him and Kaiser get back onto the ground.

Emerging from Aquamarine's ball was a mass of plasma that coalesced into what looked like a seven-foot-tall bipedal dinosaur with dark-grey armor plating throughout, three claws at the ends of each of its limbs, and a silver head with horns extending from holes in the sides of the forehead.

"Aggron, use Thunder!" Aquamarine ordered.

At the command, a spark of electricity formed in between Aggron's horns. Three seconds later, a massive burst of electricity issued from Aggron, heading straight to Boriates …

… to no effect. Boriates didn't even flinch.

"What?" exclaimed Aquamarine. "It's a giant _robot_! How can electricity not affect it? Aggron, try Thunder again!"

Aggron loosed yet another bolt of Thunder, this time aiming for Boriates' head. The bolt made contact, but Boriates did not so much as move.

"So, immune to electricity, is it? Well, let's see how it likes a little Earthquake!" said the male.

At the word "Earthquake," Aggron jumped. When it landed, the ground started to shake. However, the shock wave was too small to make Boriates even flinch, much less lose his balance.

"Now that you see that your attacks are useless against Boriates, why don't you give up that egg? It is clear that you cannot win," Volt said.

"You want it?" said the blonde, who was holding the box. Throwing it towards the duo, she said, "Then have it!"

Volt and Kaiser scrambled to get the box before it crashed into the ground. Volt was the first to the box, and he caught it like a football player catching a pass.

While the two were scrambling for the box, the blonde ordered, "Retreat!" Needless to say, the grunts were eager to comply; there was no way that they were going to try their luck against that giant robot! By the time Volt and Kaiser recovered their wits enough to look for the Rockets, they had disappeared in a nearby wooded area.

"Well, it looks like them Rockets got away," said Kaiser. "Let's see if we at least got what we came for."

Opening the box, Kaiser found an eighteen-inch-tall egg, blue all over with a picture of a white fin on each of the sides.

"Yep, this is the egg we were lookin' for," Kaiser said. "Now let's bring it back ta its nest before its parents get home."

**A/N:** And thus begin the _Vexos Chronicles_. I am hoping for this to be a three-part series, with each part focusing on different lost Vexos.

For those of you who don't know who Kaiser is, he is the proprietor of the Kanto Safari Zone in the anime. He appears in one episode: _The Legend of Dratini_ (episode 35 of the anime). The episode was banned in America for...a reason that will show itself in Chapter 3.

Many thanks to my beta, Outhra, for his help in the development of the _Vexos Chronicles_.

Constructive criticism, reviews, and story ideas will be highly appreciated. Please review or send a PM, and enjoy the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Taking another ride on Boriates' shoulder, it was not long before Volt and Kaiser reached the Dragonite breeding ground: a lake partly surrounded by cliffs, with groups of stone spires jutting out from the lakebed. Upon arriving at the lakeside, Boriates let the two down on the ground. Volt, being the one more used to riding on Boriates, had been holding the egg.

"Now where should we put this egg?" asked Volt.

"Do you see them groups of spires juttin' outta the lake?" asked Kaiser. "Those're actually the Dragonite's nests. Each one of 'em holds one egg. This egg that Team Rocket just stole was the first one laid by the Dragonite this year. Just dive down an' put the egg inta one of the nests, an' let's get outta here."

Before Volt could reply, however, the duo heard cries coming from above. The cries came from a pair of creatures flying towards the lake: orange-skinned dragons with off-white underbellies. They had wings that were orange on their dorsal sides and green on the ventral. Each dragon had two long, thin antennae extending from their foreheads. A small horn grew out of the crown of each dragon's head.

When the pair of Dragonite neared the lake, they sped forward, enraged that someone would try to steal their egg. Flying in tandem, they generated blue dragon-shaped auras that surrounded them as they rushed towards the automaton.

The Dragonite collided with Boriates with such force that it generated a shockwave, nearly toppling Volt and Kaiser. Due to the defensive boost granted by the Custom Battle Ability, Boriates stood fast. Nevertheless, the unfazed automaton did not deter the dragons in the slightest.

One of the Dragonite sped towards the ground, intent on preventing the humans from escaping with its egg. The remaining Dragonite readied a Hyper Beam and fired it at the robot's face. Boriates raised its hand to block the attack, then tried to swat the Dragonite away as if it were a fly. Yet with a flap of its wings, the Dragonite ascended high enough to dodge the giant hand coming towards it.

Undaunted, the Dragonite continued to attack. Flying towards Boriates' head, its right arm became enveloped in lightning. However, before it could land its ThunderPunch, it got knocked out of the sky as Boriates backhanded the Dragonite.

Enraged, the Dragonite generated the blue aura again and started rushing toward Boriates, but Boriates caught the Dragonite midflight and threw it into the lake.

Howling in pain and rage, the Dragonite launched itself out of the lake, ready to press the attack.

* * *

On the ground, Kaiser and Volt watched as the other Dragonite flew towards them. Landing in front of Volt, it gave an authoritative "Bow!", as if to say "Drop it!"

"Hold up, there," said Volt. "I am not trying to steal your egg." Slowly bending his knees, he placed the egg on the ground and backed away a few steps. "I came here to give it back to you."

The Dragonite tilted its head, suspicious that this human would give up the egg so easily. Suspecting some kind of trap, the Dragonite growled at Volt and barked some more, forcing him to back up even farther.

Watching the interaction, Kaiser noticed a faint detail on the Dragonite's horn. At once, Kaiser's eyes grew wide.

"Dragonite?" Kaiser said warily.

"Bow?" replied the Dragonite, turning to the source of the voice. Seeing who it was, the Dragonite's features softened. After giving a warning growl to Volt, it walked towards the old man and nuzzled him.

"Nice ta see ya again, old friend." Kaiser said. Gesturing towards the egg, Kaiser continued, "An' congratulations on your new baby." Gesturing towards Volt, he said, "This guy here came ta _return_ that egg ta ya after Team Rocket stole it."

At the sound of the words "Team Rocket," Dragonite growled, remembering how two Team Rocket agents had years ago attempted to detonate a bomb in its lake and indirectly caused a human to almost drown.

After a few seconds, it turned to Volt and bowed down, giving a contrite "Bow" in apology.

"No worries, Dragonite," said Volt. "I understand how it must have looked. But do me a favor, would you? Could you please tell your mate to stop attacking my Bakugan? For all the effort it's expending, it's only bashing its head against a wall."

Giving an affirmative "Bow!", the Dragonite flew off to intercept its mate.

Meanwhile, Volt asked Kaiser, "How did you get it to stop being angry at me?"

"Well, it's a long story, but the short version is that that Dragonite an' I have been friends for a long time. Most likely ya didn't notice it, bein' scared an' all, but there was a cross-shaped scar on the right side of her horn. I dunno how she got that scar, but that's how I recognized her. Yer lucky that _she's_ the mother, otherwise we woulda had ta run outta here. Dragonite can be very protective of their eggs."

* * *

In the sky, the father was about to ready another Dragon Rush, aiming at Boriates' knee. However, as the aura was just about to form, his mate flew right in front of him, extending her wings and arms in a defensive stance.

"Bow?" said the father, a puzzled look on his face.

Gesturing towards the ground, the mother started barking, explaining that the egg was safe and that there was no need to attack the robot any further.

The father replied with another confused "Bow?"

The mother replied with a few more barks, gesturing towards the ground.

The pair then alighted on the lakeside. The egg was still lying on the ground where Volt had left it.

The mother resumed her explanation to her mate, gesturing first towards Kaiser, then towards Volt during her speech.

The father looked at his mate, then at the egg standing undisturbed on the ground. Afterwards, the father turned towards Volt and bowed, giving a contrite "Bow." Then it picked up the egg, barked a grateful "Ba-ooh!" and plunged into the lake.

The mother was just about to follow its mate into the lake when Kaiser interrupted it. "Dragonite."

"Bow?"

"Thanks for believin' in me, old friend."

"Bow," it replied sheepishly.

"An' one more thing."

"Bow?"

"From now on, try takin' turns foragin'. That way, ya won't leave the egg defenseless just ta get a bite ta eat."

"Bow!" it said, and then it plunged into the lake.

Turning to Volt, Kaiser said, "Well, that was an eventful couple of hours, don't ya think? Now, if ya don't mind, do ya think ya can give me a ride back ta my house on that giant robot of yours?"

"You're not afraid of riding on Boriates?"

"'Course I still am! But I'm not about ta pass up a free ride, especially since my house is a long walk from here. Besides, I got some questions for ya."

"I have some questions about this place as well," Volt admitted.

"Then it's settled; we'll talk at my house. Let's get goin', then."

**A/N:** I apologize for the long wait. Computer issues have been keeping this chapter from going out when I expected.

The reference to Team Rocket agents almost blowing up the Dragonite-breeding-ground lake is a call back to Episode 35. In a bid to capture the Pokémon in the lake, which included a Dratini, Meowth threw in an electric bomb, which would zap all the Pokémon in the water and cause them to rise to the surface. Ash jumped in to retrieve the bomb and almost drowned in the process, until he got saved by a Dragonair, which is now the mother Dragonite in this story.

As always, many thanks to my beta, Outhra, for his help in the development of the _Vexos Chronicles _thus far.

What do you think about the story thus far? Constructive criticism and story ideas will be highly appreciated. Please review, and I hope that you enjoy the next chapter, which will be coming out later today!

Speaking of story ideas: in response to Mika Ninja (my first reviewer!), my current plan is to have Part I focus on Volt, Part II on Lync, and Part III on Mylene and Shadow. No, I am not pairing them, but since they did get sucked into the vortex together, I will be dealing with them together, at least for a good part of the story. BTW, if you have an account, please sign in the next time you review so that I can respond to you properly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

At the southern edge of the Safari Zone, Boriates let Kaiser and Volt off in front of a house that stood adjacent to a wooden fence, which separated the Safari Zone from the surrounding territory. After Kaiser entered the house, Volt returned Boriates to ball form. Upon entering the house, Volt saw an area reminiscent of an office space, with various pictures and plaques lining the walls.

After both men entered the office, Kaiser took his place behind the desk and said, "OK, let's get down to business. Who are you, an' how did ya get into the Safari Zone without passin' by the front gate?"

Volt answered, "Well, my name is Volt, and … you can say that I was transported here."

"What do ya mean, transported? Do ya have a Psychic Pokémon on ya or somethin'?"

"No. A wormhole dropped me here."

"A wormhole? What are ya sayin'? Are you some type of alien or somethin'?"

"Exactly."

Volt would have understood if Kaiser laughed at him. He would have even understood a derisive snort. But Kaiser's reaction was so far outside the pale that Volt had no idea how to react: before Volt knew it, he was staring down the barrel of a pistol.

"An alien. Yeah, right. Now start tellin' the truth, or else ya'll be showin' me whether _you're_ as resistant ta attack as that giant robot of yers."

"Believe me or not, I am telling the truth! Think about it: I get inside your Safari Zone without going through the front door or busting through the fence—which I'm sure would have tripped some kind of alarm. And I manage to summon a giant robot from a marble no bigger than the one that spat out that armored creature that tried to zap Boriates—what was its name? 'Aggron'? Does it look like I'm from this planet?"

Kaiser was silent for what seemed like an eternity.

Volt became nervous. Should he try to take advantage of the lull to disarm the old man? Then again, this planet was unfamiliar; Volt knew nothing of the old man's abilities. What if this humanoid had a strong grip? Or reflexes faster than a Vestal's? Was it possible for him to turn the tables on Kaiser?

Finally, Kaiser put the pistol back in its holster. "Yer either crazy, a good liar, or tellin' the truth. Ya seem like ya got a good head on yer shoulders, so if yer crazy, yer doin' a good job of hidin' it."

Volt released a breath that he did not remember holding.

"But tell me this: if yer not from here, what are ya doin' here? If this is some kinda invasion, sendin' only one person seems like a weird way ta do it."

Shaking his head, Volt said, "This is no invasion. Unfortunately, the reason I'm here is that I've been banished."

"Banished?" asked Kaiser. "Like, ya got kicked outta yer world?"

"Yes," replied Volt.

"An' ya have no idea where ya are?"

"That would be the idea of being 'banished,' wouldn't it?"

Out came the pistol again. "If ya've been banished, that means that yer some kinda fugitive! _And_ ya still got that giant robot with ya! I don't know if people on _your_ planet are used to giant robots, but we ain't got _nothin'_ like that in Kanto!"

"Wait a second!" Volt exclaimed, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "You don't understand!"

"Then make me understand," said Kaiser. Cocking the hammer, he added, "An' I better like yer explanation."

Without even taking the time to take a breath, Volt launched into his explanation: "As I said, I am not from this planet; I am from the planet Vestal. I was a member of the Vexos, an elite group of Bakugan brawlers at the service of King Zenoheld."

"This is the fourth time I've heard ya use that word, 'Bakugan,'" Kaiser interrupted. "What's a 'Bakugan,' anyway?"

"Bakugan are creatures from yet another planet, called New Vestroia. We Vestals used to pit them against each other for sport, until word came out that they were actually intelligent creatures. Boriates is actually a mechanical Bakugan; Bakugan from Vestroia are organic, just like you, me, or the Pokémon."

"So all Bakugan are as big as Bore … eye … yay … tees?"

"That's correct, and no, not all Bakugan are _as_ big as he, but they are all pretty big," replied Volt. "So, as I was saying, I was a servant of King Zenoheld. However, one day, the people rose up against him, forcing him—and us—to flee the planet.

"However, being a king, he was not going to take it lying down; he was out for revenge. My problem was _how_ he was planning on doing so: even now, he is building a giant battleship powerful enough to destroy the entire planet! I spoke out against him and left the Vexos, and this is what I get for my trouble."

After mulling it over for a few minutes, Kaiser said, "If I haven't seen yer 'Boriates' in action, I woulda said that you were completely outta yer mind. Yet ya don't sound like yer lyin'. An' I doubt that a criminal would go so far outta his way ta help a total stranger. I dunno how much I can help, but at the very least …" Kaiser uncocked the hammer, holstered the pistol, and extended his hand. "Allow me ta re-introduce myself. My name is Kaiser, an' welcome ta planet Earth."

After shaking Kaiser's hand, Volt said, "Wait a second. Did you just say, 'Earth'?"

"Yeah, 'Earth'. Why?" replied Kaiser.

"Because I've been to a planet called 'Earth' once before, and if this is the same planet, I might be able to find a way back home."

"But I thought ya were banished. Unless the word means something different in yer language, doesn't it mean that ya can't return home—usually on pain of death?"

"Yes, it does, but there are some people back on Vestal that wouldn't mind harboring a fugitive from King Zenoheld."

"Well, we'll talk about that later. The sun's settin', an' I don't know about you Vestal-folk, but us Earthlings need ta sleep."

"After all that happened today, sleep sounds like a good idea. Thank you for believing me. You won't regret it."

**A/N:** As promised, Kaiser's famous pistols show up! For those of you who don't know, those are the reason why episode 35 did not air in the US; Kaiser was a bit too happy to intimidate people with those guns. Looks like even Vestals aren't immune to being scared, either!

Stay tuned for the next chapter of the _Vexos Chronicles_!


End file.
